The present invention relates to a novel universal gear puller, particularly useful for pulling the crank gears from the crankshafts of Chrysler 2.2 and 2.5 liter engines and similarly configured crank gears.
There are crank gear pullers on the market that allow a mechanic to pull a crank gear without damaging it so that it can be reused. These crank gear pullers generally have slots in their nonflexible mounting plates so that the plate of the crank gear puller can be used on a variety of crank gears by putting the mounting bolts in the slots at the position of the mounting holes in the crank gear that are exposed when the pulley that is normally attached to the crank gear is removed. There are crank gear pullers that have two slots longitudinally aligned on either side of the central thrust bolt that is tightened in order to remove the crank gear. There are also crank gear pullers that have three slots generally aligned in a Y-configuration. However, none of these crank gear pullers can be used to pull the crank gears on Chrysler 2.2 and 2.5 liter engines and similarly configured crank gears, having 5 mounting bolts for the pulley. If one can mount one of these prior art crank gear pullers on such a crank gear, the central thrust bolt is not centrally aligned with the crank shaft, and therefore cannot be used to pull the crank gear.
Because of the configuration of the Chrysler 2.2 and 2.5 liter engine block surrounding the crank gear and the minute clearance between the back of the crank gear and the engine block, it is not possible to use a claw-type gear puller, where the claw would grab the back of the crank gear and hold it while the thrust bolt is turned in order to extract the crank gear.
Prior to the invention of the novel universal tool of the invention, whenever an auto mechanic had to remove the crank gear on a Chrysler 2.2 or 2.5 liter engine to get at the oil seal, he had to drill and cut the gear--a job that took about an hour, was very difficult and aggravating, and resulted in the destruction of the gear. There was no tool readily available to the average mechanic that would allow him to remove the gear intact in a lesser period of time.
The universal tool of the invention may be used as a crank gear puller that enables the mechanic to remove the gear intact within a very short 5 minute time period, thus saving both the crank gear and almost an hour of the mechanic's time.